On Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol addressed the first session of the 19th G20 Summit, held at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The session focused on “Social Inclusion and the Eradication of Hunger and Poverty.”
Yoon announced that South Korea will provide $10 million in new humanitarian assistance by the end of this year to address the food crisis in Africa.
He emphasized South Korea’s commitment to tackling global hunger by joining the newly launched Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (GAAHP) as a founding member. “We will actively join the G20’s efforts to combat hunger and poverty moving forward,” he said.
In addition to supporting Africa, South Korea is increasing its food aid through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). This year, the country doubled its food aid from 50,000 tons in 2022 to 100,000 tons, with plans to expand further to 150,000 tons next year.
Yoon highlighted South Korea’s vision of building strong partnerships with emerging economies, positioning the country as a “bridge of prosperity” between developing and developed nations. He stressed that the ultimate solution to hunger and poverty is fostering sustainable economic growth in developing countries. He called on the G20 to work collaboratively to create growth engines for these nations.
Yoon pointed out that South Korea led the conclusion of the Investment Facilitation Agreement for Development with Chile in February to bolster international investment in developing countries.
“In December, we will support completing the 21st replenishment meeting of the International Development Association (IDA) in Seoul,” he added.
Yoon also noted that South Korea plans to increase its development assistance contributions by 45% compared to 2021. However, he cautioned that stable economic growth in developing countries requires a firmly maintained rules-based international order.
He concluded by strongly urging Russia and North Korea to cease illegal military cooperation immediately and called on G20 leaders to unite in their commitment to upholding this rules-based order.
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